Cooke Foundation Grants $1.6 Million to STEM Programs for Low-Income Students

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has awarded
more than $1.6 million in grants to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
education programs for low-income students.

According to a statement from the organization, many low-income students with
the aptitude for STEM fields miss out on educational opportunities that could
lead them on the path to careers in those fields. The foundation aims to support
those students by funding STEM education programs at the middle and high school
levels.

Duke University Talent
Identification Program in Durham, NC, which received $331,283 to support
435 low-income student in grades 6 and 7 and enable them to participate in a
one-week residential summer program from Project Launch called CRISIS,
engage in creative investigations, complete online courses, participate in a
nation-wide online book club and receive academic guidance through email and
text messages;

The
College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, which received $250,000
for continued support of
Camp
Launch, a two-week summer residential camp for 80 high-ability,
low-income middle school students, offering hands-on science investigation
in nanotechnology, robotics, chemistry and ecology, as well as scientific
and creative writing and career planning;

The Center for Mathematical
Talent (CMT) at New York
University in New York, NY, which received $21,315 to support its high
school mathematics team that will compete in the New York State Mathematics
League Competition in April 2015 and the American Regions Mathematics League
Competition in May 2015.